“Tax inspection will block the accounts of my company, the communication committee will disconnect us from the frequency, at which we are working. I do not know what methods of struggle with me the law-enforcers will invent”

Some days ago Sergiy Sholokh, the general manager of the radio company “Kontinent”, stated that he had got the information from the trustworthy source that the Presidential Administration allegedly “issued the unofficial order to law-enforcing organs, structures of the State communication committee and tax organs to apply the appropriate measures for cessation of the work of “Kontinent””.

“Most probably, the tax inspection will block the accounts of my company, the communication committee will disconnect us from the frequency, at which we are working. I do not know what methods of struggle with me the law-enforcers will invent”, said S. Sholokh.

“Kontinent” is an independent radio company, it excels as a mass media, which makes public the acute materials criticizing the power. In particular, radio “Kontinent” transmits the features of foreign informational services: “The Voice of America”, “BBC”, “Deutche Welle” and “Polske Radio”.

Nobody knows whether the source mentioned by Sholokh is really trustworthy, but the radio company had the conflict with state agencies before. In the beginning of 2001 the National Council in charge of TV and radio broadcasting took the decision about the deprivation of radio “Kontinent” of the right to broadcast. The radio station remained in the air because it handed the appeal against the decision of the National Council to the European Court of human rights. According to international legal norms and obligations, “Kontinent” has the right to broadcast until the end of consideration of the case in the European Court.

In the connection with the latest information Sergiy Sholokh turned to President Leonid Kuchma with the open letter, in which he pointed out that “the pressure on mass media will evoke the negative reaction of Western countries and will be advantageous, first of all, to Russia”.

(«Ukraina moloda», No. 203, 1 November 2003)